At least 13 people are dead and dozens more are missing — including more than 20 children who were staying in area summer camps — as heavy rains caused “catastrophic” flooding along the Guadalupe River, with parts of Kerr County particularly hard-hit by the natural disaster.
Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha Jr. said the remains of 13 victims had been found.
“I think there will be more when this is over,” he said at an afternoon news briefing.
Emergency crews continue to search for people feared swept away by the floodwaters, which were spurred when heavy rains soaked the Hill Country overnight.
In an afternoon news briefing, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said about 23 children who were attending Camp Mystic, a local Christian summer camp, are still missing.
“We’re praying for them to be found,” Patrick said.
He said state game wardens were searching the flood zone on foot, looking for survivors. Patrick said the Texas Division of Emergency Management and other agencies had deployed 14 helicopters, 12 drones and 9 rescue teams — 400 to 500 personnel in all — to assist with recovery operations in the Hill Country.
More than 12 inches of rain fell over a 12-hour period, sending the Guadalupe River near Hunt to its second-highest level on record at 29.45 feet, the National Weather Service said. Near Comfort, the river crested at 34.76 feet, more than 6 feet above flood stage and the fifth-highest level on record for that area.
As of 1:30 p.m. Friday, a flash flood emergency remained in effect in South-Central Kerr County, including the Guadalupe River and areas like Hunt, Center Point, Kerrville and Comfort.
Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said the storms created “a very devastating and deadly flood,” and urged all Kerr County residents who live near the Guadalupe River to evacuate and move to higher ground.
State officials were “surging all available resources” to respond to the “devastating flooding,” Gov. Greg Abbott said.
“That includes water rescue teams, sheltering centers, the National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety,” Abbott said in a written statement. “The immediate priority is saving lives.”
The flooding evoked memories of a similar disaster that happened in July 1987, when heavy rains sent the Guadalupe River pouring out of its banks and engulfed the Pot O’ Gold Christian camp near Comfort.
Officials evacuated the site, but the last two vehicles to depart, a bus and a van, were caught in floodwaters as they tried to cross a low bridge across the Guadalupe at 7:45 a.m., killing 10 teenagers.
On Friday morning, Kelly told Hearst Newspapers that at least six people were confirmed dead in the current flooding, and the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office also said the floods had resulted in fatalities.
But at a news conference later in the day, Kelly declined to give an estimate on the number of people who were dead or missing.
He said there had been dozens of water rescues, but declined to provide updated casualty numbers, saying officials had been advised not to do so. He did not say by whom.
Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said floodwaters had reached his home office.
‘No one knew this flood was coming’
Asked at the news conference whether the county had a warning system that might have sounded an alert as the Guadalupe River rose, he said: “We do not have a warning system.”
He bristled at the suggestion that the county might have taken precautions to prevent loss of life.
“Rest assured, no one knew this flood was coming,” Kelly said. “This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States. We deal with floods on a regular basis. When it rains, we have water. We had no reason to believe this was going to be anything like what happened here, none whatsoever.”
He said authorities had established two reunification centers: one at Ingram Elementary School at 125 Brave Run West in Ingram, the other at the Arcadia Live, a historic theater on Water Street in Kerrville.
“What we need is cooperation and prayers,” Kelly said. He encouraged people to donate to the American Red Cross and specify that the money go to victims of the Guadalupe River flood.
Among the sites hit by the flooding was Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls in Hunt, an unincorporated community west of Kerrville on the Guadalupe River. Camp directors Britt and Catie Eastland pleaded for help and said that some children were not accounted for and that some cabins appear to have been flooded and possibly washed away. They also said the roads have been washed out and that they need urgent air assistance.
Emergency crews carried out rescues before dawn at an RV park near Howdy’s Restaurant in Kerrville.
Lorena Guillen, owner of Howdy’s, said she noticed heavy rains at 2:30 a.m., so she walked to the river’s edge to check the water’s height.
She said everything looked fine, but an hour later, the flash flood came in.
“The sheriff’s (office) came knocking on doors, and we started getting people out,” Guillen said. “By then, it was too late for the campers.”
Every RV that was parked in the RV park below the restaurant had been swept away, Guillen said. She estimated 28 RVs had been parked in the area.
“It’s total devastation… helicopters are flying in, rescuing people trapped in trees,” Guillen said. “It’s bad.”
Connie Salas said she lost her brother, Julian Ryan, 27, when floodwaters overtook their mobile home park in Kerrville, just off the Guadalupe River.
Ryan died after breaking a window with his arm and he severed an artery, Salas said.
The stay-at-home father of three was trying to escape his flooded home where he lived with his mom and children.
“He died a hero for trying to save his family,” Salas said.
Salas said her home was so full of water, she was floating on top of her bed and had to punch a hole in the roof to escape.
‘We thought they were gone’
At Calvary Temple Church in Kerrville — which Texas DPS officials and representatives of the Salvation Army and Red Cross were staging area — San Antonio residents Dawn and Scott Moore sat at a foldout table with Tammy and Paul Paynter, waiting for news on their sons.
Carson Moore, 21, and Michael Paynter, 20 are childhood best friends and college students who were spending the holiday weekend at the Moores’ home along the Guadalupe River in Hunt.
Tammy Paynter said her son called her in a panic at 3:45 a.m. The men had been awakened by the sound of windows shattering as floodwaters began pouring into the home. They climbed out a bathroom window onto the roof of the house.
The phone cut out at about 4:15 a.m., Tammy Paynter said.
An hour later, a neighbor told the Moores that their house and several others in the neighborhood were destroyed. They feared the worst for their son and his friend.
“We thought they were gone,” Dawn Moore said.
About an hour later, a shop owner called her and said Carson was clinging to a tree about two miles from the home. The shop owner saw Carson and shouted out to him, and the man pleaded with the owner to call his parents. He shouted their phone number from the tree, Dawn Moore said.
Michael Paynter was also rescued from a tree, his parents said. Both men were taken to a rescue triage facility nearby.
While the Paynters were waiting to reunite with their son at the church, a doctor called to tell them Michael was injured but stable.
“It’ll be more of a relief when I can hug him, see him and not let him go,” Tammy Paynter said.
Flooding in Kendall County
Significant flooding also struck in northern and western Kendall County, including in Comfort.
The Boerne Fire Department deployed rescue teams to assist residents in the Comfort area, according to city spokesman Chris Shadrock.
Kevin Klaerner, spokesman for the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office, said crews rescued one man who was stuck in a tree. He said everyone who needed to evacuate has done so.
County officials opened a shelter at Comfort High School for people displaced by the flooding. In early afternoon, there were about 36 first-responders at the shelter and fewer than 20 evacuees. The evacuees included a woman wearing scrubs accompanied by three children, a man accompanied by three children and eight other adults.
Officials set up a PB&J sandwich station in the atrium outside the school’s gymnasium, along with coffee, chips and cookies at the concession stand. Some area residents brought by a pizza and others dropped off homemade sandwiches.
Tony Bernal, 91, and his wife Hope Bernal, 71, evacuated to the shelter from their home in Comfort, which is about a block from Cypress Creek.
They said they’ve lived through four other floods since they moved to Comfort from San Antonio 23 years ago, and they brought their medication, water, a comb and some magazines to the shelter.
“It had been raining all night and (her husband) said we’d better think about evacuating. We started putting things in bags, and went to church to drop off some clothes so they didn’t get messed up,” Hope said.
A neighbor came over to check on them at the request of their son, who had been unable to reach them and was concerned.
“We got up in the morning and I told her, ‘We’d better put some clothes on because we might have to leave,’” said Tony, who was killing time at the shelter working on the word games and Sudoku puzzle in the San Antonio Express-News.
This is a developing story. Please check for updates.
The Austin American-Statesman contributed to this report.
